Cefalù Cathedral
the chystro

Squaring the circle

Entering the cloister of Cefalù Cathedral not only means plunging into a path steeped in medieval art that seems to reawaken the different decorative motifs animating the capitals of the columns as we pass, but also being pervaded by an architecture of light.
In accordance with Christian symbolism, it is oriented so that each of its spaces is illuminated in a different way, following the orientation of the sun.
Following its itinerary, made up of the transcendence of the circle inserted in the immanence of the square, we are invited to embark on a spiritual journey of purification that begins where the light sets, symbolically linked to Adam and the Old Testament, and then reaches the New Testament dimension, pervaded by the radiance of the incarnation and the promise. Even the plants arranged in the garden have always represented an ascetic message, capable of enveloping those who walk through it in a sense of theophany that unfolds along the way.

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The decorated facade

The chapel of St. Benedict

The lost chapel

The side aisles

The Bible carved in stone

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

The mosaics of the apses

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

The Chapel of the Kings

The Great Restoration

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Under the crosses of the Bema

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The architectural modifications ti the cathedral building after the death of Roger II and the transformations of the cloister

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

Palermo: the happiest city

A palimpsest of history

Thirteenth-century iconography decorates the nave’s wooden ceiling, designed with new solutions

The chapel of the crucifix: an artistic casket based on a previous model

Biblical themes enlivened by the dazzling light of the stained – glass windows overlooking the naves

The senses tell Context 1

Roger II’s strategic design

The mosaics of the presbytery

The area of the Sanctuary

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The Virgin Hodegetria

The links between the hauteville family and the monastic orders in Sicily

A Northern population

Interior decorations

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

A compositional design that combines nordic examples with new artistic languages, over the centuries

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

Beyond the harmony of proportions

The towers and the western facade

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

From the main gate to the aisles: an invitation to a journey of faith

The Gualtiero Cathedral

The side Portico: a combination of elegance and lightness of form

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The beginning of the construction site

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

The Cefalù cathedral: a construction yard undergoing a change between a surge of faith and control over the territory

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Worship services

The original design

The king’s mark

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

Tempus fugit: a strategic project implemented in a short period of time

Squaring the circle

The paradisiacal “Conca d’oro” that embraces Palermo: a name with countless faces through time

The southern portico

The stone bible

The columns of the nave: the meticulous study of the overall order

A new Cathedral

A space between the visible and the invisible

The cemetery of kings

Mosaic decoration

Survey of the royal tombs

A tree full of life

The rediscovered chapel

The balance between architecture and light

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

A remarkable ceiling

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

Transformations over the centuries

The cultural substrate through time

The longest aisle

A controversial interpretation

The Cathedral over the centuries

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

Ecclesia munita

The plasticism of the main portico and Bonanno Pisano’s Monumental Bronze Door

The marble portal: an intimate dialogue between complex ornamental aspects and formal structure

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral